Guest Artist: Paige Moon

Art: Paige Moon

Forget padlocked books with ‘Keep Out’ on the front, guest artist Paige Moon creates a detailed visual diary of her life.

You grew up in Seoul, Korea but now live in Pasadena, USA. What do you miss about Korea?
I came to America for school and now I live here but my family and friends are in Korea. I miss them all the time. I miss having my parents around in the morning and at night saying good mornings and good nights, meeting my friends for a cup of coffee, or drinks… I miss all these ordinary aspects of daily life.

And what do you love about your new home?
Nice weather, good people and beautiful nature.

What words do people often use to describe you?
I have no idea. I’ve never thought about it. Maybe they’d say pale, quiet, Korean, weird… [laughs]

What’s one of your favourite childhood memories?
Hanging with my friends or riding a bicycle with my brother in front of my old apartment, and my grandma is calling us to eat dinner. I get home and I see my mama from work.

When did you know you wanted to be an artist?
When I was young, I just liked drawing, and enjoyed going to a small art institute near my home. I wrote my dream is to be a painter when I was in elementary school, but I never knew I really could be one. I forgot about it until I was able to switch my major to illustration in college. I was excited about drawing and painting classes that I was going to take.

How do you pick what to paint?
Sometimes I think about paintings when I’m with people – if a place has a nice interior or my friend wears a shirt with a nice pattern. But mostly it’s later when I’m thinking about moments that I keep remembering or make me smile.

What fascinates you about including so many details in your paintings?
There are so many things around me that I don’t notice are there but when I started working on my paintings, after I graduated, and started looking closely, I realised there are so many things I pass by or I don’t remember. Suddenly it all became special to me. I don’t put every detail in my paintings because that’s impossible but I try to put as much as possible, so when I look at my paintings later, I know those were the things around me.

Do you paint from your memory, photographs or sketch in the moment?
It depends. I would sketch right away if I knew that I was going to make that moment a painting but it mostly comes later, so I try to take pictures as much as possible. If I don’t have any pictures, I try to search references or ask friends for photos.

What materials do you work in?
I paint with acrylic, it works best for me. Sometimes I use gouache or watercolour for drawings. I tried other materials when I was in school, but now I pick what I feel comfortable with.

Describe your studio…
I don’t have a studio; I work at home. My work desk stays messy and unorganised until I finish a job. After I’m done, I clean a little bit, then make it messy again.

What was the last thing that got you excited?
I love hiking and last week I went to one of my favourite trails. It was long and tiring but so great! The weather was perfect, and the view at the top was amazing. It was so nice.

What do you do to relax?
Watch movies with a glass of wine, go for a walk, stay at home cleaning, talk to my mum on the phone.

What are you working on?
A painting for a show called ‘Panorama Landscapes’ at Eastfield College in Texas.